


Silence

by IaMcHrIsSi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, seriously full spoilers, this takes place immediately after the movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 12:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14568687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IaMcHrIsSi/pseuds/IaMcHrIsSi
Summary: Afterwards, there's silence.





	Silence

**Author's Note:**

> That ending was... wow. So, have some reaction to it. Also, Okoye and Natasha friendship is like, the best thing.

Afterwards, there's silence.

There should be screams, Natasha thinks, in the small corner of her brain that's not filled with white noise and fog. People should be screaming, they should be cursing and crying and shouting. That's what you do when you lose everything, isn't it? But all there is is silence.

The thing is, Natasha thinks, putting a hand over her mouth and biting her tongue to stop a hysterical laugh from bubbling up, that she'd never let herself consider losing. Dying, yes, of course. She's been expecting to die in the line of duty for years, since she was a teenager, really. But losing? Not being able to stop Thanos from killing half of humanity, and being one of the few to survive? She'd never considered that.

Bruce is standing next to her, still wearing that huge suit, but he's not saying anything either. Natasha doesn't look at him. She should, she thinks distantly. She should make sure he's okay. Bruce Banner is not known for his self preservation instincts, and it would be just like him to not mention some deadly wound. But she can't bring herself to move. Can't even turn her head.

Steve's in her line of sight. She focuses on him. He's sitting on the ground, still staring at the patch of ashes that used to be Barnes. He's not moved since it happened. Natasha can't see his eyes, but she doesn't want to. She's scared of the emptiness they'll probably contain. Sam would be braver in this regard, she thinks.

Sam. She's not seen him since ... since before the snap.

That thought finally dispels some of the fog in Natasha's brain. She needs to find Sam. She needs to find Rhodey, too, and T'Challa, and Okoye, and they'll need to make sure Princess Shuri is alright. Wanda _(Wanda)_ left the palace on her own accord, Natasha knows, and she thinks Vision might have, too, but still. The princess is only 17, and Natasha and her friends brought the fight to the country. It's their responsibility.

Slowly, Natasha turns her head. Sees Bruce staring, pale and terrified but his breathing seems steady, so he's okay. See's Vision's body, grey and motionless, and the pile of ash that used to be Wanda. She turns away from that very quickly.

There's some sort of noise to her right, and it takes Natasha a moment to realize that she's hearing someone coming. Neither Steve nor Bruce react, so Natasha takes her staff and gets ready to defend them. Her arms hurt, and her rips protest, but she's the only thing standing between those two men and whatever is coming. She's not going to allow them to be murdered like so many others.

But when the person comes through the bushes, she sees that it's Rhodey. He looks at her with wild eyes, staring at the staff that is still pointed at him. It takes her a moment to lower it.

"They just... turned to ash." He says, voice breaking, and Natasha wants to hug him, because he's alive, and she wants to hit him, because he forces her to think outside of her own people. She wants to shush him, because this moment feels unreal, and when he speaks he shatters that feeling.

All she does is nod.

"My king." A voice from her left, and it takes Natasha a moment to connect it to T'Challas general. Okoye seems ... empty, and Natasha doesn't have to ask about T'Challa. It's all in the woman's eyes. A weight settles in Natasha's stomach, and she closes her eyes.

"The princess. I... I need to... she's the heir." Okoye seemed so lost a moment ago, but now there's a sort of purpose. Of course. Okoye serves her country and her royal family above all. As long as Princess Shuri lives, the woman hasn't lost everything.

"I'll come with you." They've fought together on the battlefield, forged a sisterhood in the trenches of this war. Natasha can't let her go on her own, not when there's a chance that all she'll find is ashes. She turns to Rhodey.

"Can you...?" She points to Steve. The man still hasn't moved. She's not sure if he ever will. They have no way of knowing whether there's still stragglers of those aliens left. Someone needs to protect him.

"We'll look after him." It's Bruce who answers, voice hollow but sure. She wants to smile encouragingly, but all the smiles have been leached out of her. All she manages is a nod, but Bruce nods, too, and him and Rhodey go to stand next to Steve, so she'll take it.

She wishes Clint was here. He'd pull her into a hug, no matter how bad things seemed, and then they'd face the end of the world together. They've done so before, they could do it again. He'd give her something to focus on.

Clint. Suddenly, it feels as though ice is running through her veins. Thanos turned people to ashes with his snap. Half of them? Half of all of them? She reaches for her phone frantically, but it's not there. She must have lost it during the battle.

Okoye is walking in front of her. Natasha's not sure whether she has not noticed Natasha's distress, or whether she's just decided that she can't help her right now. Both seem equally possible. Natasha bites her lip. Princess Shuri first. If Clint and Laura and the kids... if it happened, then a few minutes won't make a difference anymore. She's too far away to help. But she can help Okoye.

The walk towards the palace feels long. Longer than it probably is, but Natasha can feel dread filling her every move, a dread she has not known before. They've _lost_ , and she's not sure she can deal with the consequences of it.

She catches glimpses of the battle field. People lying on the ground, some sitting, maybe injured, maybe in shock, some standing like statues. Natasha strains to see the air, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sam, of getting that reassurance that he at least is still alive, but there's nothing. He's just on the ground somewhere, she tells herself. Sitting somewhere in shock. They'll find him.

There are no guards at the palace, which immediately sets Natasha's nerve on edge. There are always guards around Princess Shuri. The people of this country love her, they'd never abandon the girl. Not if there was any other way.

She sees Okoye grab her spear tighter. Neither of them says anything. They don't look at each other. They just keep going. A fight has happened here, that much is clear. Bodies are on the floor, wearing the uniform of guards.

Movement to her left. Natasha turns, and immediately drops her staff. There, leaning to the wall, is the princess. She looks scared, and young. Natasha reminds herself that the girl is 17, a child, really. Okoye bows.

"Thank Bast." The girl breathes, and then she hugs Okoye. The general seems surprised, but she hugs the girl back. Life seems to return to her. Natasha closes her eyes. Neither Shuri nor Okoye say anything, they just clutch each other tightly.

There's a phone in the mess on the floor. Natasha picks it up. It's Wakandan technology, but right now, Natasha couldn't care less. Shuri and Okoye don't seem to be ready to talk yet, or anytime in the next few minutes, so she does what she's been wanting to do since she left with Okoye. Her fingers seem to dial on their own, and then she presses the device to her ear, praying to gods she doesn't even truly believe in.

"Nat?" She breathes out. Breathes in. Smiles, and feels tears in her eyes. "Nat, is that you? Are you okay? People have started turning into... ashes, half of Lila's class is gone. What the hell is happening?" He's still there. If Laura or the kids had disappeared, he'd have led with that. They're still there.

Natasha cries.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm totally ignoring all the signs that Clint's family was probably among those disintegrated. Nope, not happening with me.


End file.
